


I'll Stay With You

by Jwalkingdisaster



Category: Voltron - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Escape, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hunk takes care of everyone, M/M, Pre Season 3, Shiro's fine, Torture, Voltron, alternate end to season 2 finale, fighter ring, galra - Freeform, klance, klangst, new champion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2018-11-11 13:18:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11149233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jwalkingdisaster/pseuds/Jwalkingdisaster
Summary: When Keith betrays the group, Lance refuses to accept it and goes after him, right into the belly of the beast.





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a process. It's the first fic that I've put work into and posted so bear with me. Partially based on a post by Tumblr user @voltrcn. Shout out to Gay_Space_Prince for beta reading and listening to me ramble. Thanks, dude.

It wasn’t supposed to go this way. They were the paladins. Defenders of the universe. How could Keith betray his family like this? Lance thought back to that final battle. Voltron had been forced apart and Shiro was out of commission, each lion and their pilot fighting for themselves.

“Shiro! Can you hear me?” A low groan came from Shiro’s helmet and the paladins breathed a collective sigh of relief. Shiro was bleeding and bruised, but alive, and Voltron was winning.

“Has anyone seen Zarkon or Creepy Cloak Chick?” Lance shouted over the sounds of battle “Also, where is Keith?” he questioned before he and Blue destroyed another Galra ship.

“Uhh… guys?” Hunk stops in the middle of the battlefield

“Wha-” Lance is cut off by thousands of incoming Galra ships approaching, with the red paladin leading the charge.

It hits them all at together. The knowledge that Keith, their fellow paladin, their friend, their family, had betrayed them. And all at once, Voltron was overtaken. They had lost.

…

Pidge was screaming. It was a gut-wrenching and utterly broken sound.

“Everything was a lie! Every time we fought together! Every time we laughed together! It was all a lie!” She was screaming, her face red and streaked with tears, and Lance was screaming right back

“He’s our teammate! Our friend! How dare you!”

“Lance! He betrayed us!” Lance pauses, his eyes red from crying “I - I” his voice breaks and he screams like the world is ending, because he feels like his world is being ripped apart, and runs down the hall.

“Lance, wait!” Shiro called after him, ever the calm leader. It hit them all hard; the betrayal of their friend, but Lance was taking it the hardest. When he trusted, when he loved, he loved with his whole being. He couldn’t accept Keith’s betrayal. He just couldn’t.

Pidge was silent for the first time since they had gotten back to the castle. The silence echoed through the halls, cutting the paladins deep.

“You guys, I know it’s hard. Of course, I know it’s hard, but we have to keep going. If we give up now, all the work we’ve done, everyone we’ve saved, it will all be worthless,” Shiro tried to reason with the heartbroken paladins while his heart was breaking just the same. “I just…” he sits, tears streaming down his face, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Allura stands, “We can’t just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to fight back! We have to get the red lion out of Zarkon’s hands before it’s too late.” Her words are met with silent nodding. They know they must fight, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It hurts like hell. None of them had ever felt so broken and betrayed. They had just gotten over the fact that their friend was Galra and now this, but they couldn’t give up, for the sake of the universe.

“Okay. How do we go about this?” asked Hunk, speaking for the first time since they had gotten back.

“We need to take our time to create a plan. With the red paladin and its lion in their custody, we are at a disadvantage. Without all five lions, we can’t form Voltron. We need to create a plan without Voltron. Once we get the red lion back, we’ll need her to choose a new paladin to replace Keith. For now, I need you all to get some rest. We will reconvene in the morning.” Allura stood, declaring the conversation over

“What about Lance?” hunk asked

“He’ll be fine, we just need to give him some space to adjust. We’ll check on him in the morning” 

…

Lance laid awake long after the other paladins were supposed to be asleep. He had admired Keith since their start at the Garrison. He had watched him grow into an incredible person, an incredible paladin, only for him to throw it away for the Galra. Lance was absolutely devastated. It couldn’t be true, could it? Maybe Keith was being threatened or held captive. He just couldn’t understand why Keith would do something like this. He knew Keith and he just wouldn’t do something like this. He had to know the truth. He had to find Keith. But how? He couldn’t just take Blue and fly off to wherever Keith was. He didn’t even know where Keith was. Even if he could find Keith, he’d be insane to go without his team…. His incomplete team. He would probably be captured, but he needed answers only Keith could give.

Lance pushed himself out of bed and out into the hallway. Pidge would know what to do, even after their fight Pidge would always be there for him, he reassured himself and headed down the hall to Pidge’s room. As he passed Hunk’s room, he heard him snoring and wondered how he could sleep after something like this, but Hunk was always a good sleeper. Shiro’s room was still, but he could see the light on under the door. Did he ever sleep? Keith’s room was dead silent. No knives being sharpened, no soft breathing of a light sleeper, not a living thing. He finally reached Pidge’s room and knocked softly, “Hello? Pidge?” he whispered

The door slid open, “Lance? What are you doing up? You’re supposed to be resting for tomorrow.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you supposed to be resting too?”

She sighed and opened the door so he could come in, “I couldn’t sleep. Not… not after this”

“Me neither. I think it would make me feel better if we talked about the game plan.”

“What?”

“What are we going to do? How are we going to find Keith?”

“Lance,” she sighed, “that’s a conversation for tomorrow. Right now we should both be sleeping.”

“Pidge, please. At least tell me how you think we’ll find him?” he begged

“Fine,” she said, “my best guess is that we’ll track him through the red lion. They need him to pilot it, so they won’t be apart, and we already know how to find the Lions, assuming they haven’t disabled all the tracking shit that’s in Red.”

“Could another lion find Red?”

“Theoretically, yes. They are linked and I put some tracking and locating stuff in a few of the lions just in case someone got separated. Blue is one of those lions.”

“So theoretically, I could find Red, and through her, Keith”

“Well yes, bu-”

“Okay great thanks, Pidge I feel so much better. Bye!” Lance practically sprinted out of her room and back to his own. It was time to plan a trip.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I wish I was a faster writer so I could get these up quickly for everyone. If anyone is interested in being a beta reader it'd be cool to get a third set of eyes. My Tumblr is babymilkshakegladiator and you can contact me there! And another thank you to my beta reader Gay_Space_Prince.

Lance knew he couldn’t take the Blue Lion. It was too risky. When -  _ if _ \- he got caught, he couldn’t risk them getting ahold of Blue as well as Red. He would take a pod. All he had to do was sneak into the hanger, get the coordinates, plug them into a pod, and take off. Easy peasy; in and out operation. He could do it, no problem. He could do it, he had to keep telling himself that. Usually he could hear Keith rustling about in his room this early. It was like he never slept. 

_ Keith _ , his chest hurt just at thought of him.  _ I’m coming.  _ He tiptoed through the castle, as to not disturb the other paladins. Fully dressed in his paladin armor, with bayard in hand, he felt a little silly.  _ It’ll be fine, in and out.  _ He took a deep breath in before shoving the hangar doors open, cringing as the 10,600 year old hinges creaked. Glancing over his shoulder one last time, he entered the hangar, maybe for the last time.

“Blue?” He called out, greeted with the familiar presence of his lion in his mind, “Good to see you too, Beautiful. I need your help. Quickly and quietly,” she purred in agreement “Okay! Let's get to work!”

They worked into the early morning and just before the ‘sun’ rose, he figured it out. It took awhile for Lance to figure out how to find him, but with gentle nudging from Blue, they did it. They had found Keith. 

“Alright! Now just to enter in the coordinates and I am off!” Blue grumbled, “I’ll be back, Blue! I promise!” She nuzzled her huge, metallic nose into him, “I love you too, Gorgeous” he laughed, he could only hope he’d be back, but everything would be okay. The team could find another blue paladin, he was just a seventh wheel, but Keith was an amazing fighter and the number one pilot in the garrison. Lance was just… Lance. They could live without him, but Keith was irreplaceable. He sighed, Keith might not even come back, but at least they’d know why he left. Before he could change his mind, he loaded into a pod with only his paladin armor and his bayard. The paladins were his family, but he had to know the truth, he had to leave. 

“Goodbye, everyone. I’ll be back. Hopefully,” he’d try his best to come back, but he knew they’d be okay without them. 

…

At breakfast that morning, the air was thick with unease. The food goo was eaten in silence, and even Coran Coran the Gorgeous Man, was quiet. No one even looked up as Hunk entered the room, surprisingly late. 

“Um, guys?” He asked, with only a  _ little _ panic in his voice, “Where is Lance?” He’d hoped Lance would be at breakfast, joking around like normal.

“He’s probably still moping in his room,” Shiro sighed and stood up, “I’ll go check on him.” Hunk followed him to Lance’s room, only to find it empty, his bed not even slept in.

“What?” Hunk was quickly encroaching on panic, “Where could he be??”

“Hunk, relax,” Shiro put on his Dad voice, “he probably couldn’t sleep and got up to train. Let’s go to the training deck.” They checked the training deck, the hangar, the library, and the bridge. Lance was nowhere to be found

“Did you guys find Lance?” Pidge asked as she rounded the corner. She had finished breakfast and couldn’t handle sitting alone with Coran while he was uncharacteristically quiet. Lance had always been his favorite.

“No such luck. Do you have any ideas?” Shiro asked. He was worried and tired, just like the rest of them, but he was a leader and he had to do his best to portray as such.

“He did come to my room last night asking how we were going to find Keith,” Hunk interrupted her with a gasp, “and he asked specifically if Blue could figure out where Red was…” 

“Pidge! Why didn’t you say anything!” Shiro scolded

“I didn’t know he was missing!” Pidge was shouting again and Hunk was panicking.

The overhead speaker sounded and Allura’s voice came through “Paladins! A pod is missing and Lance is nowhere to be found! Everyone meet in the bridge!” The paladins rushed to the bridge, their argument forgotten. Lance was missing and that was all that mattered.

…

Lance was tired. He had been flying through space for hours and still nothing but stars, planets, and asteroids. The pod was mostly on autopilot and just sitting there was boring, he hadn’t thought to bring any entertainment and was regretting it. There was no telling when he would arrive because all the systems were in Altean, but he tried to keep himself pumped. Any minute he could arrive at the Galra ships where Red and Keith were and he couldn’t be unprepared. 

As he came around another planet, he gasped at the sight of the same Galra ships that had attacked them the day before. This must be where Keith was. He had reached his destination. Turning on the invisibility cloak - in both the pod and his suit - Pidge had installed, he piloted to a docking station in the main ship. There was a surprisingly low amount of security. Maybe they were cocky from their victory, or maybe they were expecting Voltron, what they weren’t expecting was a lone pod carrying just the blue paladin. He was so close to finding Keith. He had tracked Red here and flown here by himself and he was so close. 

_ Okay. If I were Keith, where would I be?  _ Lance tried to put himself in Keith’s mind, the Keith he knew, _ The training room!  _ Keith’s safe place was always the training room. When he was stressed or sad or frustrated, he would train. Now all he had to do was find the training room. 

He crept along the walls, careful not to make any noise, until he found the training room. The familiar sound of swords clashing and the grunting of people training was oddly comforting to him, but he knew he was walking into dangerous territory - even  _ more  _ dangerous - but he soldiered on and entered the training deck, coming practically face to face with Keith himself. He had to stop himself from screaming in anger and fear and desperation. Keith’s hair was up in a ponytail and sweat dripped down his face. Lance’s cheeks flushed. He felt like he was back at the castle with the other paladins, training to fight the very people Keith was training with now. He would have to wait until there were no Galra in the room to speak with Keith. He moved to an inconspicuous corner of the room and quietly waited. Luckily, he didn’t have to for long. An alarm soon blared over the loudspeaker and the Galra practically sprinted out of the room, leaving Keith and Lance alone.

Lance dropped the invisibility cloak and Keith gaped at him, “Lance?” his voice was cold as he walked over to Lance, “Why are you here?”

“I came to bring you back!” Lance whisper-yelled, jabbing him in the chest with his finger. “Back to your team and your family!”

“Don’t you see, Lance? It wasn’t real! I was faking it!” Keith’s voice rose with every word.

“Like hell you were! I know you, Keith, better than you think!” They had gone to school together, trained together, found Blue together, gone on adventures together, risked their  _ lives _ together. He knew Keith and he couldn’t give up on him.

“You. Dont. Know. Anything.” Keith enunciated every word in a harsh, cutting voice

Tears pricked Lance’s eyes, he was shocked and hurt and betrayed. “How could you do this to us?! To your team? This isn’t you, Keith!” He was yelling now. All their time spent together flashed before his eyes. They were supposed to be a team.

Keith took a deep calming breath, “Yes, Lance. It is. It always has been.” He turned and began walking away, “Guards, Intruder!” He yelled as he retreated.

“Keith! Stop this isn’t you! Please! Please please please,” Lance’s body was racked with sobs. “Please don’t do this. Please.” Even after hearing Keith confess to the betrayal, he still couldn’t believe it. He could barely fight the guards as he was dragged away. Tears streamed down his face. He hadn’t cried this hard since he was a kid. Feeling weak and small, Lance succumbed to the guards and let himself be captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh sorry this is late. I've been busy with like three jobs. My break from work is more work. School is also starting next month friick. Wish I was a faster writer honestly sorry guys. This chapter is 2017 words funnily enough. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 3!

Lance didn’t know how long he had been there. They had thrown him in a dark empty room with barely any room to stand up, let alone walk around. So he sat with no food or water or contact of any kind for who knows how long. His body felt sore and cramped, his joints ached, and the pain in his stomach wouldn’t go away. Drifting in and out of sleep, he dreamed of better times, his family, his friends, the other paladins, and  _ food _ . Oh, glorious food! He missed his mother’s home cooking, Hunk’s monthly potlucks when they were kids, fast food, he even missed that horrible space goo that Coran made for them. All he wanted was to go home, but more importantly, he wanted, he  _ needed _ to bring Keith with him. 

“Hey,” Lance was startled from his hunger induced haze, “Get up.” The foreign voice grated against his eardrums and he groaned in protest, “I said,” a large, furry hand grabbed his arm and forcefully dragged him to his feet. “Get  _ up _ !”

“Who are you?” Speaking felt like sandpaper against his throat. “Where’s Keith? How long have I been here?” These questions had been swirling through his head since he had been thrown in his cell, but all he got in response was a grunt from what he guessed was a Galran guard. He was dragged out into a hall and the light temporarily blinded him. “Where are we going?”

“No talking,” was the only response he got, and Lance figured it probably wasn’t the best idea to be talking to his captives anyway. He let himself get dragged down the hallway and thrown into a wide open space. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he gasped. He recognized this room from Shiro’s memories in the mind meld exercise. “Welcome to the Gladiator Ring.” He didn’t even have to look at the Galra soldier to see the ugly smirk that mangled his face.

…

Keith had been getting used to Galra living for the past five days and it turned out it was pretty similar to his previous life, just with less mushy friendship and his space being invaded. There was a routine to things. Train, eat, train, sleep, repeat. He was Galran after all. That was how they had approached him, the pull of finally having a family, of being with people just like him, of being accepted and understood. How could anyone resist? 

Somehow Zarkon had known Keith was Galran and had gotten a message to him during one of their battles. It took weeks for Keith to read it and at first, he didn’t even know why he had kept it, but the allure of it haunted him and before he knew it he was betraying the other paladins. It had happened slowly, first agreeing to speak with Zarkon and soon enough he found himself giving Zarkon information on Voltron and the other paladins, their missions, their plans, their weaknesses. The Galra made him feel welcome, no ridiculous flirting, no scolding, no touchy feely crap. He felt at home. 

At the final battle, he had slipped away, unnoticed by the other paladins, and when he returned he brought thousands of Galra ships. Voltron had no chance. He had to admit that he had grown close with the other paladins and it stung a bit after defeating them, but the congratulations from his new family were enough to make him forget and he settled into his new routine.

For the past few days, he had been invited to watch the Gladiator fights with Zarkon in what Keith deemed the ‘Presidential Suite’. It was two chairs on a ledge with the best view of the whole ring. It was like having front row seats to the fights. They were usually over pretty quickly, but there was the occasional fighter that survived for a couple minutes. The Galra soldiers stopped them from dying most of the time to “prolong the entertainment” and when they were no longer fit to fight, they were either killed or sent to work camps. The rules were simple, you survive for longer than a minute or win - which never happened - you eat. If not, you pray you survive to fight another day. 

It had been like any other day, a prisoner had just been taken away in bloody ruins when Zarkon suddenly stood and a hush fell over the crowd as he raised his hand. 

“Everyone, we have a special surprise for you today. Five days ago we captured the infamous blue paladin of Voltron.” There was a chorus of cheers and Zarkon raised his hand to silence them, “today we introduce him to the Gladiator ring!” He gestured toward the prisoner door and there, shackled by a guard, was Lance. 

His normally dark skin was pale and Keith could see the how dull and sunken his eyes were from his seat,  _ This is his fault. He chose to come here and this is the consequence.  _ The truth was Keith didn’t understand why Lance had shown up here. He risked his life and it was a stupid decision. Besides, Lance had never shown any interest in Keith before, so why now? Why come here just for him? Lance was a fool and would have to face the consequences. He would have to fight and that was that, but it didn’t stop Keith’s heart from hammering as Lance stepped into the ring.

….

Tensions were high in the castle. Each paladin somewhat blamed themselves for Keith’s betrayal, for Lance’s disappearance. It had been five days since Lance disappeared and somehow they were no closer to finding him. Blue was unresponsive, Red was gone, and apparently, someone had turned off the tracking software Pidge had installed, so there seemed to be no way to track them down. The longer Lance was missing, the more danger he was in and the whole team knew it. 

“Damn it!” Pidge slammed her fists on the table. “God damn it,” her voice cracked with frustration. She hadn’t slept in days and was struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Pidge, you should sleep. It’s not healthy to go on like this,” Hunk said, putting a hand on her shoulder. He knew she would push herself until she gave out if someone didn’t step in, he’d seen her do it before and she ended up missing a big exam because no one could wake her up.

“No. We need to find Lance.  _ I _ need to find Lance.” Even in her sleep-deprived state, she was fierce.

“We’re all trying our best to find Lance, Pidge. This doesn’t all rest on your shoulders.” He could see her start to give in a bit.

Pidge knew Hunk was right, but she couldn’t just stop. Lance needed her to find him, after all, it was her fault he had left.

“It’s not your fault,” Pidge jerked, she had forgotten Hunk was there. Maybe she did need to sleep, “It’s no one’s fault and we are all trying to get him back.” Everyone in the castle was sleep-deprived and on edge. Hunk missed his best friend and was terrified for him, Pidge blamed herself, Shiro kept envisioning what they were doing to Lance, what they had done to Shiro himself, but they all soldiered on for Lance’s sake. Pidge nodded before giving in and collapsing in Hunk’s arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. We have to,” was all she heard before passing out. 

Hunk carried her to her room before heading to check up on Shiro. Much like Keith, he took his anger and frustration out on the training dummies and the sounds of fighting had been echoing throughout the castle all day, “Shiro?” He knocked on the doors to the training deck, not wanting to startle him.

“End training sequence.” Shiro looked absolutely wrecked. His lips were chapped and his eyes were droopy, Hunk could see the bags under his eyes from across the room. “Hey, Hunk. What’s up?” Even Shiro’s voice was ragged and hoarse.

“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?” Hunk felt it was his job to take care of his friends because he knew they wouldn’t do it themselves.

“I don’t...I don’t know.” Hunk had never seen Shiro look this lost, even at the Garrison he was always large and in charge. Shiro was Lance’s hero, for god’s sake! Hunk was almost glad Lance wasn’t there to see it.

“Let’s get you to bed okay? You look like you need some sleep.” Hunk put his arm around Shiro’s shoulder and guided him to his room. As soon as his head the pillow, Shiro was out like a light.

“Goodnight, buddy. Sleep well.” Hunk could see how hard everyone was taking Lance’s disappearance and Keith’s betrayal. It was all too much for anyone to handle. 

Next, he went to the bridge, where Allura and Coran were hunched over multiple screens and maps, speaking in frantic whispers. There were papers strewn about and dishes of food goo left lying around.  _ At least they’re eating _ . “Anything I can help with?” His voice seemed to startle them and the screens suddenly shut down.

“Ah, hey Hunk. What’re you doing here?” Allura seemed fidgety and nervous, nothing like her normal commanding self. It was almost like she was hiding something.

“Hunk, are you okay? Have you been taking care of yourself?” Coran was always taking care of the paladins, and Hunk was so grateful for that. But now it was time for someone to take care of him. Lance had really bonded with Coran and he was sure he was taking it hard. Hunk could empathize, Lance was his best friend after all. 

“I’m fine, Coran. Don’t worry about me. How are you guys? Have you been taking care of yourselves? Eating? Sleeping?”

Coran nodded and assured him they were fine. They were taking care of each other. “How are the other paladins, Hunk?” He asked.   
  
“They’re worn out, but I put them to bed and I’m sure they’ll feel better when they wake up. What are you guys working on?” Allura twitched, and Hunk could tell something was up. “Guys? What are you not telling us? 

Allura and Coran shared a look before Allura sighed. “We think we know where Lance is.”

….

The ring was everything Lance expected, and yet 100 times more terrifying. But the worst part, beyond the fighting and the fact that his body felt damaged and bloodied beyond recognition, was the fact that Keith sat there and watched the whole thing. He sat there on his little ledge and watched him fight for his life before he finally collapsed after a few minutes and was dragged away. He had fought monsters before, but always with his fellow paladins and always with his lion. Fighting one on one was a whole new terrible experience, and he was beaten down again and again, but he had to get up. He had to fight to survive for his family, his friends, for Blue, for the whole universe! No matter what happened, he would get back to his family, and he would bring Keith with him. 

After he had collapsed, he wound up back in a cell, this time a slightly larger one, and there was a plate of food on the floor when he woke up. He had never been so grateful for a plate of sludge and an empty room in his life. After he had gobbled up the sludge at an embarrassing rate, he realized his injuries had been taken care of. There were no mirrors, but he could feel that the swelling in his left eye was significantly better than the usual black eye, and the cuts on his face and body were stitched and bandaged. As he ran his fingers over the cloth bandages, he realized that for whatever reason, the Galra wanted him alive. He could use that to his advantage, but for now, all he could do is lay back on the cold ground and think of how to save Keith from himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! They fuel my existence!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its been 84 years..... since I posted

After his first fight in the ring, the guards had come back every other day to bring him to back for another fight. Personally, Lance felt that he should be able to rest a little bit more, but the Galra are ruthless in everything, including their entertainment. Every time one of his wounds healed, three new ones took its place. At first, he had almost hoped that it was just a dream, that he’d wake up and he’d get to see his team and Keith would be there, but at this point, he knew all too well that this was no dream. The cell that they had moved him to, on what he learned was his fifth day in imprisonment, was a great improvement from his first cell. Not only was it bigger, but it had a toilet so he didn’t have to shit in the goddamn corner. God, he loved toilets.

He had settled into a routine in the past few weeks. He kept track of the days by scratching tics into the wall with a screw he found with his food, which either meant someone was trying to help him or hurt him, but that didn’t matter right now. It took him a week to get his groove from the day he was captured, but now he had a solid routine that he figured he could live with for a while. On odd days he was taken to the ring to fight, and on even days he was allowed to rest and was given food when he won his fights. Today was an even day and he allowed himself to sleep in, once he woke he began his daily exercises, after all, he couldn’t keep winning in the ring if he let himself relax.

The day began no different than normal, but as he was finishing his last set, the door to his cell creaked open revealing a group of four ugly, gangster looking Galran soldiers, “Well, well, well. Look what we have here,” the first one, probably the leader of their group, grinned at him, “a defender of the universe left helpless and broken.”

Lance knew this wasn’t heading anywhere good “What do you want,” Lance asked

“You _dare_ speak to me?” The leader grabbed Lance’s face and yanked him forward, “You are _nothing_ compared to the Galra race. You are a weak, disgusting piece of scum” he snarled and released him

 “What are we gonna do with him, Boss?” What looked to be the second in command spoke up

 “Let’s have some fun with him.” The boss’s snarl turned into a laugh and his three followers laughed with him

 Lance gulped in fear “You guys got nothing on me.” he flexed his arms, the amount of food he was getting was enough to allow him to grow enough muscle to fight in the ring, but mixed with the daily exercise, it was not enough to quell his hunger. Most days he felt weak and saved his energy for the ring and a few workouts. He didn’t have it in him to fight these bullies, only to fake the confidence. “Haven’t you heard the stories of the legendary blue paladin? The strongest, the fastest, the sharpshooter of Voltron. I could take any of - “ He was cut off as the largest of the group knocked him out.

 When Lance awoke, he was tied to a chair in what looked like some kind of alien storage room. His head was pounding and he tasted blood, but luckily they had done nothing more to him while he was out. Honestly, he was surprised that it had taken so long for this to happen. Keith knew everything Lance did, so they didn’t have any reason to interrogate him, but he was an enemy of Zarkon, and an easy target. As far as he knew, there was nothing stopping them from killing him.

 “What do you want with me?” he asked, spitting the blood from his mouth and turning his head towards the nearest

 “Oh, would you look at that. The wittle paladin is awake. DId you enjoy your nap?” the Galra grabbed his Lance’s face and brought it close to his own, “listen here you insolent rat; we’re simply here to have a little fun with you. Isn’t that right fellas” He released Lance’s chin and laughed along with his buddies. “What do you think, paladin?  Could we pull your teeth? No that’s too visible. How about your fingernails? Yes, I think that will do quite nicely.” He grinned a terrible grin and reached for a wedge of wood and a hammer.

 Lance grit his teeth and screwed his eyes shut as the Galra gripped his hand. He focused on the feeling of his teeth grinding together and the tightness of his jaw and breathing slowly as the wood was wedged under his fingernail. Normally neatly trimmed, his nails had grown long and scraggly, with plenty of room for the sharp wedge to fit. Lance tried to prepare himself for the first blow, but no breathing method could have prepared him for the sound of the hammer tapping the wood and the pain that followed. The pain tore at him and invaded every thought.

 The Galra laughed “How was that for you, little paladin?” he laughed again as Lance grit his teeth through the pain. Sweat trickled down the side of his face and he blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over, “looks like it wasn’t enough for the brave hero. Let’s continue!”

 Lance grit his teeth again and only hoped that it would be over soon. The sharp wedge was again slipped underneath his nail, irritating the freshly wounded skin. The Galran swung back the hammer and struck the slice of wood. Like the ticking of a clock, the hammer struck home again and again. Lance could no longer blink back the tears and they openly streamed, but he did not cry out. His forehead was drenched in sweat with the effort, but he would not give them that satisfaction.

 The Galran leaned in and whispered, “I will break you,” the hot breath against his ear made Lance flinch

 With a final strike of the hammer, Lance’s nail completely separated from the nail bed with a sickening squelch. No man can last forever, and this was Lance’s breaking point. The only thing on his mind was the pain. He did not register his own screaming, nor the Galrans laughing, nor when they started in on another nail and then another. He barely registered when the hammering stopped and another voice entered the scene.

 “What the _Fuck is going on here,_ ” the new voice demanded

 As he faded out of consciousness, his last thought was of Keith.


End file.
